. and welcome back. we want to welcome you. we are monitoring the returns and bringing you the latest tonight. >> we are watching results the states where the polls just closed moments ago including iowa and nevada and of course are watching very closely on the other important battleground states including florida, ohio and virginia. closing right now polls in iowa, montana, nevada, utah and idaho. both candidates have settled into watch. the president has been some

chicago, romney went to boston to cast his vote before flying out for more campaigning. we have team cove rage on the two. ken pritchett is with the president in chicago. we start with rita williams. >> >> reporter: romney's senior strategist took to the stage to try to rev up the crowd. he didn't have any real news but as you can see this crowd here is beginning to grow. meanwhile i'm told that romney is a cross the street in a hotel room with his wife ann, his five sons, 16 of his 18 grandchildren. right before he went in there he had one last thing to say about this long campaign. >> i have am very pleased. i feel like we have put it all in the field. we left nothing in the locker room. we fought to the very end and i

think that's why we will be successful. >> reporter: no would have, could have, should have, he seemingly is satisfied with the campaign he has run. >> as for his supporters, some are down stairs below me right now watching returns on big screen tvs cheering of course when returns a swing state seem to be going their way. growing they quiet when they aren't. folks here say they do expect to know tonight or early tomorrow who the next president will be, who the president will be for the next four years. my colleague ken pritchett is in chicago with the president. what are they saying? >> reporter: what we are hearing and what you are hearing there, but maybe more here is a lost cheering as the

results come in. there are thousands of people who are expected to attend the election night event. here in chicago. those invited are -- those that the obama campaign workers who live in chicago. chicago campaign workers but they volunteer to travel to neighboring swing states to campaign in the final day. that effort earned them a ticket here tonight. they are watching the returns come in and with them is a top democrat, the topical cal democrat, the attorney general. she said it's more important to get out the vote. . >> there is in ohio last election cycle we won by five votes per precinct. every vote matters.

to vote is to express one's voice. so at this point i want to encourage everybody to get out and vote and then we can talk about how much we enjoyed the celebration later. >> reporter: of course in addition to the big question of who will win the other question is when will we know? talk to the campaign here they say they believe it'll be a long night. they believe we will have the answer to who will win this contest by tomorrow morning. chicago ken pritchett. ktvu. >> as we said polls closed in several more states just moments ago. >> ken wayne and heather hoppings are watching what's happening in those locations. >> reporter: i want to tell you that just a few minutes ago we got word that the associated press is now projecting that romney will in fact win utah. as you see here they are projecting he will win utah. there it goes red. you just saw it live. we also want to let you know

that pennsylvania just a few moments ago was declared in the obama camp. so the president winning pennsylvania with 20 votes. also happening short time ago the state of new jersey, even with a republican governor take a look, the president winning the state of new jersey and capturing all 14 of the electoral votes. other results also including those battleground states, watching the vote that are comingn. >> you mentioned pennsylvania which, some considered a battleground state at least romney did because he campaigned there in the final hours. he lost that state. so now he is turning to ohio which may be the most important state in the election and right now the president is leading romney in ohio by two points but we still have more than 7 million registered vote he is in the state of ohio and only have about three million who have cast ballots so it could be a long night in ohio and florida. seems like it's the story every

four years, razor elections in florida and look at this. more than seven million votes cast, it's tied look at the separation, 3, 681,000 for obama, you are talking about -- a difference of 20,000 votes. we still have a lot 6 votes to be counted in florida but those are the key states. we don't know what's happening in virginia. another battleground state. the only ones that really have come in if you want to call pennsylvania a battleground state it's in obama's column. romney has to win ohio and florida, he hopes to win virginia. if he looses ohio he has essentially lot of the election so all eyes on ohio and we will keep watching. >> voters in several states will cast votes for or against same sex marriage today. we want to check in now with

john fowler in the newsroom. he is monitoring some of the national issues including gay marriage. >> reporter: we may have history made tonight. the first state to approve same sex marriage by popular vote could come this evening. maine is the first state to put it on the ballot. maryland and washington voters are -- asked to overturn it done by legislators. minnesota voters asked to change the constitution to define it as between a man and woman. six states have legalized it by legislation or court order. this is maryland earlier this year. 32 states have previously rejected gay marriage, proponents say they have been encouraged by national polling. 49% favor same sex marriage. maryland's turn out reported as very heavy. early returns just into the newsroom, 52% are approving same sex marriage. in maine, 53% approving it.

minnesota no returns yet. the results in washington may not be known until the end of the week because of late mail in ballots. reporting live. >> now in addition to election results, reporters watching voter turn out, analysts have predict that fewer people will go to the polls this year compared to the last president alley election and david stevenson is in san francisco tonight to tell us what he is finding out about the question of turn out. >> reporter: the voting booths behind me here at the city hall are staying busy ahead of the polls closing at eight. san francisco has just overra 503,000 registered voter, typical turn out for the election is 71%. 9 elections department said it may be a lower figure this year. we have learned just over half of the 260,000 vote by mail ballots have been returned this evening but we are seeing a lot of people at this hour coming to vote in the booths including

first time voters of all ages. >> first time working it's very important. i want to vote for this country. the united states. >> it was really exciting and it was shall -- i was really happy to involve before i couldn't vote. >> reporter: and despite the concerns about the turn out san francisco has two closely watched races and initiatives ranging from the gross receipt taxes plan to the possible branding of the reservoir. they expect to start releasing preliminary results of some of the ballots startling just after 8:45 with a larger report just after 11:45 and we will monitor that through the night. reporting live. david stevenson. >> as we have been telling you social media is playing a major

role in providing information tonight more so than any other election. we are follow that part of the election coverage and we are live in the newsroom. >> reporter: we have seen more than 11 million election related tweets. there were about 10 million during the first presidential debate. with all of those voices some have compared to being in a bar with to many people and the museum sick so loud so we are start trying to sort out the most pressing conversations. with an hour until the polls close we are hearing from you. you can see some of the comments. one tweeted us, writing i'm a young voter and excited to see my vote make a difference. hearing a lot of that. you can join the conversation at facebook.com/ktvu or on twitter. you can throw in the hash tag.

see what others are doing. we are live in the newsroom. ktvu. >> polls close in california in less than an hour. a lot more election coverage coming up. >> first another look at ohio. probably the most closely watched of the votes as you can see a very tight race in ohio. the president at this hour leading, the governor 51% to 49%. [ laughter ] [ girl ] wow. you guys have it easy.

i wish i had u-verse when i was your age.

in my day, we didn't have these fancy wireless receivers. blah, blah, blah. if i had a sleepover, i couldn't just move the tv into the playroom. no, we had to watch movies in the den because that's where the tv outlet was. and if dad was snoring on the couch, we muscled through it. is she for real? your generation has it made. [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver. only from at&t u-verse. get a free wireless receiver with a qualifying u-verse plan. rethink possible. . as you know several swing states playing a critical role in the election. >> we will talk about them all night. heather and ken are back with updated numbers on ohio and new hampshire. >> it's important to note why the swing states so important.

once the polls close on the west coast including california we expect a lot of this to turn blue and this is what we are watching. 270 votes needed. look at the latest tally, romey with -- in about an hour once the polls close here we are expecting a lot more blue to show up which means these battleground states become more important. ohio, virginia and florida. want to let you know with in the last few minutes new hampshire as you look here went to the president. take a look at the results can see 55% for him compared to romney's 45%. there are other key battleground state that are really important at this stage. >> we are still watching ohio. that's really the most support state. we are at about 45% of the precincts in ohio have been counted so not quite half. right now the president does have a lead in ohio, 51% to

49%. we are hearing reports from ohio that the president is doing very well in the places he was expected to do well but is doing well in south central ohio and he is -- in fact doing better than they expected there. it's not over yet. we will have to wait and see how it plays out. let's check in with florida and again you can see how close this race is. 50% each and 35,000 votes out of more than 7 million cast divide the two candidates in florida so florida could be another long night. we have seen that before. >> we -- it might be when it comes to florida but also want to look at virginia. see the latest numbers we have from the associated press of virginia with the 13 votes, take a look. pretty close here. romney with 52%. the president with 48% but a lot of government contractors, works in the state of virginia so we will have to see how that plays out. >> poll workers getting ready for the polls to close in the

next 45 minutes, janet is at voter's office in martinez. how is it looking there? >> reporter: not bad. as people have been coming in as the deadline approaches, clerks, office staff have been say something have been bringing in sample ballots instead of their official mail in ballots and making other mistakes. one woman who tried to cast a vote here. we are seeing more people come in as it gets close to the polls closing. they are dealing with some problems including about a dozen scanners that were jamming had to be replaced. here staff are tallying the vote by mail ballots, more than 50% of voters requested mail in ballots. more than ever before. one group just became citizens this morning and since it's election day they were able to register and vote, a very emotional moment for them. >> a special day.

just -- to be an american citizen and have a chance to vote. it was a big day for me. two in one. so happy and excited to do it. >> we have seen staff getting in position to process the ballots the here one of the big question questions is if the proper 30 tax hike passes and preliminary results are expected at about 8:00 tonight. reporting live. >> the voter continue out in the south bay has been brisk and right now its only about 45 minutes left before the polls close. maureen naylor is live in san jose. are a lot of people still show up? >> reporter: they are. i want to show you something. we borrowed this from a voter and you can see it's actually not filled out. this voter said he likes to wait until the last minute before turning it in. that's what others are doing behind us. if you have one of these like you said you only have 45 minutes. its been busy. we have talked to a lost people who just got off work and

rushed to make sure their vote counted election workers are still calling out numbers of those waiting to vote and any registered voter who comes before the doors close at eight can cast their ballot. we met a group taking pictures in the lobby including a 25- year-old who couldn't vote before because of her criminal past but voted today. >> my past wasn't all that great so i had problems of voting. so now that i -- i have the privilege to vote i will take advantage of it and vote. >> we are all first time voters. it's like we all -- we want to make a difference and stuff. before we didn't think it was important and now we realize that every vote counts. >> reporter: here is some video we took in the last hour of people waiting inside to vote. that wait time isn't as long as it was before. last time it was down to about 15 minutes. the stream of cars has not stopped and is not letting out.

they have until eight to put those in the box. we have been talking to voters before and against race raising the minium wage. we will get results, we will go live inside to show you where they are counting the ballots. live in san jose. >> more live election results straight ahead but first another look at the situation in florida. a must win tonight for the governor but as you can see right now it is very, very tight. with the latest numbers, the president with a slight lead. >> another important state is virginia. this is one of the most closely watched swing states and at the moment romney is a head 52 to 48% with 63% of the precincts reporting. we are keeping a close eye on all of these numbers there. are several other important key swing states as well. more election coverage after this break.

. voters will be deciding if marijuana should be legal, some even beyond medicine uses. let's go to john fowler in the newsroom where he has been monitoring what's going on. >> reporter: there could be more history made tonight. one of these states could be

the first to legalize marijuana for nonmedicine uses. voters in washington ask to regulate marijuana similar to alcohol alcohol and 234 colorado the cannabis cowboy. he is a retired policeman who said colorado need supervises horse sense and should legalize marijuana. >> war on on drugs has been the most immorar policy since labor and jim crow. >> it would let marijuana be sold in stores. the measure is leading. in arkansas -- measure set upstate regulated pharmacies for medical marijuana, massachusetts is leading -- in montana voters being asked to repeal a medical marijuana law passed eight years ago. no returns yet there or for oregon or washington. the government is watching them closely. it's not clear how if at all

drug enforcement officials may change marijuana law enforcement in any of those state approved measure measures pass. >> many people are watching their televisions tonight to see the election results. others are focused on social media such as facebook and twitter. we are following that tonight in the newsroom. >> reporter: you know with the less than an hour until the poll ifs close a lot of what we are hearing now is excitement from people who have just voted. of course i'm looking at florida and ohio are still trending as we wait for the vote totals in those important states. earlier tonight at least one person asked us on facebook why bother? with california not in doubt for the president, we heard another one in the last hour that put it in perspective. paul sawyer with a group that promotes awareness of high school theater and tonight he

said vote, these propers matter now, this president matters now. you can join the conversation at facebook.com/ktv. find us at twitter, on twitter at ktvu. you can add the hash tag ktvu2012. as we lack at more comments that are coming in, another interesting one. lauren blakely said to us, i'm in california now but i live in georgia and i'm registered to vote in florida. she still found a way to vote urging everybody to stay in line and make their voices heard. >> more reobservation results, this time from out west. heather and ken. >> reporter: we got the first numbers from the west and one of the states that is a swing state and is being contested is the state of colorado with its nine votes and right now the president has the 52-48% lead against romney in colorado. we are still watching to seat

final numbers. new mexico is a state that the president is expected to carry and he is also doing well there right now. 56% to 44% for romney. we have some numbers iowa and it's surprising. though he was expected to do okay the president has 59% over romney's 41% so very strong showing in iowa so far for the president. >> and let's take another look at the votes and let's tell you and show you now how we get to the numbers with romney with 155 and the president right now with 149 again. that magic number 270. we had arkansas called. romney the winner here. we also had louisiana called for romney again here you can see the results, 64% for romney. these important swing states really come into play here trying to push the numbers up.

ohio, new numbers, 18 votes at stake. 51% for the president to romney's 41%. we have seen the numbers change. we will be here monitoring that and bring you the latest when we get it. >> for those of you watching us on kicu we will leave you now. if you want to continue to watch we are continuing on ktvu channel 2. >> as we go to break a look at the numbers from ohio, 62, 38, the president in the lead.

. welcome back. while bay area is a heavyly democratic area the republican faithful are optimistic about victories tonight and that includes the presidential race and other races. we have been talk tag voters in walnut creek. what are you hearing there? >> reporter: there is now less

than half an hour to make it the polls and that's what these folks are doing. you can see the last rush of voters are coming in. we are on clayton road which today has three different voting precincts in operation. as of the last -- i just checked, about 820 people have come here today to cast their ballots. we have within watching voters in and out this afternoon and evening and talked to quite a few of them. quite a few talked about how important it was to vote especially in this election. >> our future is at stake for the schools and the kids and myself and -- i'm a mom and going back to school so it's going to impact me. >> for me just feels like i actually matter and that -- you know, i guess that my vote could make a change in the way the election comes out. >> having the right to putin put in to the government, i think it's really important for

everybody to do. >> reporter: talked to the county clerk about the election. he said while president county had a turn out of 84% four years ago he hope this is time to hit 80%. it seems clear that the excitement for voting less widespread. >> the governor will be headed up to sacramento for a proposition 30 event. that's the tax measure to race billions for schools. lemon for his -- he will monitor his proposition and the presidential, election. >> reporter: the proper 30 party is scheduled to start in just about a half hour. the stage is set, the signs and decorations up, there is also a large screen along with three televisions to monitor results. organizes say they expect about 200 people, some have started coming in. then the first part of the party the focus will be monitoring the results of the

race. then i'm told they there focus on proposition 30 once results start coming in. supporters say it'll race taxes needed to prevent cuts to schools. opponents say the money isn't promised to go toward schools, there are some here, democratic party officials, those who worked on the yes on proposition 30 campaign. there are still no signs of the governor. we are told he will not come out to speak publicly until a substantial number of results are in. we will monitor the results all night. reporting live. amber lee. >> we have updated numbers in two more state that have just been called in the race for the white house. let's go back now to ken and heather at the big board. >> they are here in the west no surprise, utah, we don't have the raw numbers but the ap said based on its exit polls it's declared romney the winner of the state of utah. of course a large mormon

population there. that was expected and wyoming a conversative state, that also goes to romney. no surprise. we want to take a look at colorado. numbers still coming in. this is a battleground state and the president is a head of romney by four points. in new mexico the president was expected to do well there and he is, he is leading romney 56% to 44%. so things so far in the west are playing out as expected. >> also go head and look at other states. we just got new numbers iowa. take a look as you can see the president now ahead 60% to romney's 40%. another state, missouri and as you can see with ten votes, you have -- romney ahead in this state. 58% to the president's 42%. ken said that the battleground state of colorado we are monitoring ohio, virginia and florida . none of those states

have been called. we will of course be continuing to monitor this. let's go take a look and see what the latest shows and it's a real battle. romney 51% compared to the president's 49%. we have seen the numbers adjust and the pollsters were right. they said it would come down to a couple of the states. >> one more time at florida because this is really close. it's neck and neck. 50% and now we are about 40,000 votes separating the president and romney with the president having a lead but it's still early, a long night ahead in those states especially ohio, virginia and florida. >> remarkable after spending two billion dollars on this campaign it all boils down to what happens in virginia, florida and ohio. we are continuing to follow those three states and monitoring the other states, back with more after this break.

. our live coverage starts right now with the look at the important state of floor lore where this is just a neck and nick rastaban romney and the president. you as you can see it's 87% reporting, it's tied, in the state of florida. a very thin margin. >> now to virginia where romney is still holding onto

ismail lead. 51% to 49%. 63% reporting. >> now to ohio where it is also very close to call in this critical swing state. 54% reporting right now. the president leading, the governor 51 to 49%. >> as i was going in to the break we were talking about all of the money spent, the advertising, pretty much all boil its down to what happens in three states. what is the sense, is it fair to say it's a tough road for romney? >> it is. i think as you notice $2.6 billion spent in the election, back at the three states we started off with and looking at a very small map for him. he can win. the states are close but he has to thread the needle and get on the right side in all three states. it's doable but he has to -- get some luck. >> let's talk about balance of power in washington. the house and the senate. the republicans were trying to get three to four seats to take

back control of the senate right now the democrats have actually picked upsets in the senate. what do you make of that? >> it's good news and bad for each party. the democrats hoped to pick up 25 seats in the house and had optimism they would. it appearance they may loose seats. if you look at some of the races they were projecting to be close those are falling the republican's way. they pick up a seat in kentucky -- there are seats in new york that are a bit of a surprise. looks like it'll be tough for the democrats. in the senate the democrats appear to have picked up a seat in maine. mccaskill appears to have won against akin. the democrats appear to have picked up the race in indiana. so as well as elizabeth watermen massachusetts. the democrats are ahead three seats. they thought they -- they increased their margin. >> widen the gap. >> let's talk about sandy. a lot of people were worried it

may impact the election. we were -- talking about how seven% of the population, they decided in who they were going to vote for. do you think sandy had any impact? >> it may have and this is the president at his finest. the moments where he was stand with the governor in new jersey, active anden caged and looking presidential. it was his best closing argument with how he handled the hurricane. since things have started to fall apart and the last couple days the reports have focused on the communities left out but as -- the timing of the election was falling, this was -- the best closing argument he could have had. >> we will keep you here all night. talk to you throughout the evening. really a very interesting race that's still way to close to call. razor thin margins. we will be back with a lot more after this. >> and as we leave you we want to show you arizona, its been

called for romney. 57%, president's 43% in the state of arizona. travel advisories to small business loans.

government car auctions to finding a new job. to get information, go to the official source. usa.gov in my day, we didn't have these fancy wireless receivers. blah, blah, blah. if i had a sleepover, i couldn't just move the tv into the playroom. no, we had to watch movies in the den because that's where the tv outlet was.

and if dad was snoring on the couch, we muscled through it. is she for real? your generation has it made. [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver. only from at&t u-verse. get a free wireless receiver with a qualifying u-verse plan. rethink possible. . more on the balance of power in copping. democrats hoped to gain seats in the republican controlled house and the gop hoped to take back control of the senate. we have more now on how that is all unfolding tonight. >> reporter: party leaders here in washington keeping a close eye on california united states

races to see if the seats change hands for control of congress. we got the indications it'll not be changing hands. the democrats are throwing a victory party in dc tonight. they will keep the senate. >> we will do great. we will keep the majority and have really great people in the senate. >> reporter: the republicans will throw a party, they are keeping the house which means nancy pelosi is talking act white house house. >> four more years of obama. >> reporter: the congress that has gridlocked door two years will stay as it is, divided. to be clear some of the local races close and are being closely watched including a handful in southern california, a heavy weight bout and late votes could decide the future of 9th district congressman. in the last decade in the 53 seat there have been 265

elections, only one time has a seat changed party hands. now we are likely to see for the next decade up to ten competitive districts a year. >> reporter: we took a small camera through the capitol and found some of the most endangered incumbents didn't even open their dc offices today. all hands on deck on the campaign trail. they called in volunteers to work phone banks and reach the still undecided voters lighting up late on the west coast. after months of fighting and campaigning a senate where democrats hold a slight edge will probably stay that way tomorrow. >> united states house tonight which will start speculation tomorrow morning about the future of house democrat leader, long time san francisco congresswoman nancy pelosi. live in dc. scott mcfarland. ktvu channel 2news. >> from the balance of power to the election we continue to keep a close eye on the swing

states that are important to the outcome of the election. >> let's go back to ken wayne and heather hoppings. >> reporter: we have arizona declared. romney wins it 57% to 43%. no surprise there. then if you look at the big picture the president has 148 votes, romney has 168 votes, 270 are needed to win the white house. these numbers are going to change. we can predict no surprises on this map. washington, oregon, california the polls still open. they haven't closed. these will be blue states, california the bingest prize of all with 55 votes, idaho and montana expected to go red. nevada a toss upstate. we aren't hour what will happen. colorado a toss upstate and the president is leading romney 52% to 48%. new mexico expected to go blue and the president has a significant lead there, 56% to

44% over romney. we have a look at the in some of the other states. >> we just had the state of maine called and as you can see it went to the president. the president taking maine in those four votes. 640% compared to romney. this is incorrect but the president was declared the winner there in maine. speaking of those swing states with have some new numbers from the state of ohio. $216million spent between the two candidates in this state. here is the reason why, ohio with its 18 votes, take a look. the president right now leading 51% to romney's 49% but boy look at these numbers close in this state. also new numbers in the state of virginia with its 13 votes, take a look at the numbers that we have just gotten in. this to very close. romney was 51% compared to the president's 49%. right now romney ahead in the state of virginia. one more battleground state before we leave you, florida,

29 votes at stake here and the president and romey neck and neck here. we have watched these numbers change but still always with in about 49% of -- of the two candidates getting the votes. if you tiki a look offer all no big surprises, the pollsters have predicted this. we are continuing to monitor things and again once the polls close here in california you will see those votes in that number up there 168 and 148 change. >> all the areas will shade in quickly after eight after the polls close on the west coast. these states here, are -- there are predictions on what will happen. we expect missouri to go red, iowa is a toss up. it's a -- that's where the president got his campaign going the first time he was running for president. right now he has a good lead. we expect minnesota is normally democratic state and right now the president has the lead there as well.

wisconsin a battleground state right now romney has the lead in wisconsin but that still has not been decided yet. there are still more votes to be counted. these will shade in. the west will shade in and then we are back to where we started. ohio, virginia, florida, north carolina has been a battleground but it's looking like romney will probably win north carolina though the president won it four years ago but the polls had been indicating that romney would do better this time around in north carolina. we go back to florida, virginia, ohio. florida, virginia ohio. it's a same old record and we still don't have results, final results from them. that's what is holding us up to find who will be the president. >> university students are watching the race and other votes closely. deborah is live in berkeley where she has been talking to students tonight about what's important to them. >> reporter: we are looking at a big viewing party. here in the plaza in the heart

of campus. hundreds of students watching election results. >> how you doing tonight? >> [inaudible] . >> reporter: organizers have also been urging anyone in the crowd who hasn't voted to make sure and do so and to text friends and remind them to vote. we are now closing in on eight but it's very easy to vote on campus there. are ballot boxes in several of the dorms and what is exciting for many in the crowd is the opportunity to vote for the very first time. >> it was a great way to start off college with the election my freshman year. makes me more interested in politics to start off with -- kind of breeds interest in politics that i will carry for the rest of my life. >> i have gone to the website. called voters, like this is -- really important to me. i have been -- i have been waiting for this for a while.

i'm excited. >> it felt amazing to vote for like the first time. especially with all of the college students, we are all able to share opinions and like you said it's the most important year for higher education. >> proposition 30 to race taxes and freeze education cuts has really fueled voter interest here at cal and at united states and csu campuses statewide. the strongest support, some 77% in polls comes from voters age 19 to 29. now the cheers that we are hearing behind us are for the national election results, this crowd mainly democratic, very excited with the promising returns about the president but of course they will be glued to the results on proposition 30. we are live in berkeley. >> and we have more updated numbers right now. as our coverage continues. another look at florida

tonight. 87% reporting, it's still very close in the state. you can see. >> virginia where it's still 51 to 49% but it continues to get closer. we are watching virginia. another key battleground state. >> and later in to the evening we are watching ohio, a very important state tonight. 51% to 49% with obama, the president in the slight lead here with ohio.

. it's all come down to three states, florida, ohio and virginia that are important to this election. >> ken wayne and heather hoping to break down the voting groups. >> reporter: its been four hours, just about that since the polls closed in florida. we want to look at the latest numbers we have into the newsroom and as you can see it's still a very tight race in this state. the president right now three million votes, take a look at romney. really, really close. it's interesting to note in florida whoever has won this state 90% of the time has gone onto win the white house. in over the past ten that's

changed. seven times its been republicans, three times democrat. that's why we don't know what will happen here. >> let's talk about history. no republican has won the white house without ohio. here we go. the president is leading romney in ohio. so again we are going to focus on those three states. it's almost eight. the poll also close on the west coast. we will have numbers from the west coast and we will keep you posted. >> social media is unofficial tonight with this election adding a new aspect to election night coverage. eric, from the newsroom. >> reporter: in just the last hour said the election day is the most tweeted about event in united states political history. we should say that doesn't require you to go back to far considering twitter launched in march of 2006 but there have been 20 million tweets many from people here in the bay area. here is one now from sierra.

she said everybody has a voice, that deserves to be heard. she said our ancestors fought hard for that right. we heard similar things another man. as a first time voter it's amazing to feel the power of the vote many fought for. you can join the conversation on facebook. go head and add the hash tag ktv2012. you can see what others are talking about. we are live in the newsroom. >> and we are now just minutes from the polls closing here in california and along with california the polls will also close in hawaii, oregon and washington state. >> we will switch over to fox coverage on the race for the white house. we will continue to update you throughout the evening. as soon as we get california results statewide and local you will see them at the bottom of your screen. these are live pictures the

obama campaign in chicago where they are hoping for a big win tonight for the president.